Musician wears a suit and plays the trumpet

Visiting Company

Chicago Immigrant Stories IV

Chicago Jazz Philharmonic

Performances

Jun 3

Join us for the finale of the celebrious Chicago series where jazz, classical, and ethnic folk music intersect in new and unexpected ways.

Since 2017, Chicago Jazz Philharmonic has invited guest musicians to share their immigration stories and their artistry, creating a collective experience for audiences across Chicago of what it means to be an American. Chicago Immigrant Stories has been forging cross-genre collaborations to connect the musical culture of the city's immigrant populations, providing inclusive space for diverse communities to feel connected with each other.

Chicago Immigrant Stories IV will feature musicians from Chicago’s Japanese, Brazilian, and Ukrainian communities alongside Chicago Jazz Philharmonic’s full 55+ member orchestra. When talking about the rich cultural heritage and customs that have shaped Chicago over the city’s 190-year history, often overlooked are the region’s original inhabitants. For this production, CJP will also partner with musicians from Chicago’s indigenous communities to share their culture and reflect on the impact that immigration and the growth of the city has had on their families.

The series has been hailed as "the convergence of musical cultures [which] stands to yield an opus that sounds like nothing else we’ve heard" by Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune.

About Chicago Jazz Philharmonic
Where jazz and classical meet in harmony From inception in 2004, Chicago Jazz Philharmonic has been an artistic vehicle for amplifying diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. In the ensuing 20 years of composing for and conducting CJP, Davis has observed that the hierarchical and competition-based euro-centric culture operated as the dominant lifestyle of the orchestra. And although the majority of jazz musicians are classically trained, the opposite is rarely true. Davis has contemplated a radical (r)evolution of Third Stream music; one where the paradigm is flipped and where jazz, with its tradition of collaboration, openness, and improvisation would become the ethos of the orchestra with an equal intent to engender a more productive discourse on human relations, especially around race.

The nature of CJP’s Third Stream approach celebrates racial equity and diversity. Jazz is fundamentally a Black American music that draws from different musical traditions found throughout the African Diaspora. In teaching the culture and history of jazz music, our performances and curriculum teach Black American culture which is inextricably tied to American culture as a whole. The orchestra features musicians from Chicago’s diverse community and is shaped and informed by each artist’s background, culture, and voice, making it something that is at the same time “of the world” and uniquely “Chicago.”